Tag: family reunion

Family reunions. They’re usually stressful event for couples. A topic of contention. A partner’s moment to get creative with excuses to ditch. On Day 16, 17 and 18 of this 30 Day Marriage Challenge I’m relieved that the tasks came easy, not despite the fact that we were having a huge family reunion but because we were hosting it.

Day 16Thank him for all he does for your family.

I had that cliche movie moment – when I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this guy. I was on the other side of the world, studying abroad, and called my mom to check in. There she was, having lunch with my aunt and my cousins (just babies at the time) – and there he was, without asking. I didn’t expect him to spend time with my family when I wasn’t around. That was when I knew: he was the one.

Today, as I was preparing our house for the big reunion of my relatives visiting from across the country and from around the world, without asking – he was cleaning bathrooms, the basement, the kitchen. He wasn’t doing this for me. He was doing this for my family. Our family.

Day 17Laugh with your husband today.

Easy! There was a lot of laughing today. There also happen to be a lot of wine.

A lot of the time I find him embarrassing because my husband is blunt and crass. But it balances my dry sense of humor. Together, we laugh a lot. Nowadays, mostly about the things are kids say and do. What made today even more special is being surrounded by aunts, uncles, cousins – from ages 1 to 90 – all laughing together, in our home.

Day 18Who is a wife you admire? Try to be more like her today.

I really had to think about this one. There are definitely moms I admire, but I couldn’t think about a single wifely figure. It actually made me sad but also happy. One thing I’ve been working on is not comparing myself. It puts me in a bad headspace. So, I concluded that I’m content with what I am as a wife. And therefore, I will be ME today.

“Why compare yourself to others? No one in the entire world can do a better job of being you than you.”

With all that said, there were people missing from our family reunion. People who have torn our family apart. It made me even more grateful for the man who is my partner. His presence in my life actually made my connection with my family stronger. Our extended family is bigger, yet tighter, because of it. I don’t want to be bold and say that we are the bond to this family, but I’d like to think that there was a reason we were asked to host. That the reunion was held in our home because everyone feels like its also their home. It makes me hope that we’re doing something right as a couple. And maybe I’m the wife to be admired.

Want to read all 30 Days of the Marriage Challenge? View the Overview page HERE